The Lizard Lifeboat Station
| The Lizard Lifeboat Station | |
| RNLI Lifeboat station | |
Rose, the current Tamar-class lifeboat, launches from the RNLI lifeboat station at Kilcobben Cove, Cornwall on the The Lizard.
|
|
| Country | England |
|---|---|
| County | Cornwall |
| District | Lizard Peninsula |
| Village | Lizard |
| Location | Kilcobben Cove, Cornwall |
| - coordinates | 49°58′10″N 5°11′14″W / 49.96950°N 5.18718°WCoordinates: 49°58′10″N 5°11′14″W / 49.96950°N 5.18718°W |
| Founded | RNLI since 1859 |
| Date | Current boathouse 2011 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
 |
|
The Lizard Lifeboat Station can refer to several Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat stations located on The Lizard in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The first was established at the southernmost point of the peninsular in 1859. Since then successive stations have all been in operation at different locations on The Lizard. The current station is located at Kilcobben Cove 0.5 mi (0.80 km) east of the village of Lizard.
The lifeboat stations have all covered the westerly approaches to the English Channel; with up to 400 ships-a-day, it is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The lifeboat service has saved many lives over the past 150 years.
The RNLI established its first lifeboat at the southern tip of The Lizard in 1859. The station, which cost £120 to build, was located atop the cliffs above Polpeor Cove about 0.6 mi (0.97 km) south of the village of Lizard. It was inaugurated after the 740-ton steamer, the Czar, foundered on the Vrogue Rock, off Bass Point on 22 January 1859. The government transport ship was taking ammunition and uniforms to Malta. Fishing crews from Cadgwith and Church Cove saved some of the crew but the captain and his family drowned. Following the tragedy, a Mrs Agar of Lanhydrock donated money to buy the first Lizard Lifeboat (Anna Maria).
However the location of the first lifeboat station on the cliff above Polpeor Cove was not ideal as it made launches a long and precarious operation in rough sea and weather. On 2 January 1866 the lifeboat broke up after it was launched on exercise during a storm. It was pushed on to rocks causing the death of its Coxswain Peter Mitchell and crew members Richard Harris and Nicholas Stevens. As a tribute to the loss, the RNLI gave £130 to the local lifeboat fund. (Location: 49°57′32.53″N 5°12′22.77″W / 49.9590361°N 5.2063250°W)
...
Wikipedia